Politics Current Events Feb 27

[nycfan]

Trying something different — my attempt to split related current even stories into their own threads means a lot of the threads I started end up on the first page (and we have multiple threads on Trump, Musk and DOGE, for instance, which several posters indicate they find frustrating.

It actually takes me longer to try to figure out where to post a particular news item than it would to just post a news aggregator daily and dump in what I find interesting.

So, going to try a daily political news aggregation thread where any of us who spot a potentially interesting news item can post a link.

I think it would become frustratingly chaotic if this same thread is used to discuss all those items at once, so suggest that if folks see an item worth discussing, start your own thread about it. That will mean a bunch of new threads potentially, but the goal is to give room for other discussions to occur without feeling crowded out by news aggregation posts.

my plan is to lock up the daily thread and start a new one at the beginning of each day.

Some will see how it works.

 

[nycfan]

Trump Admin secures release of Andrew Tate, brings him to USA:



“… Andrew and Tristan Tate, who have U.S. and U.K. citizenship, have been barred from leaving Romania since 2022, when they were put under investigation. On Thursday, Romania’s special prosecutor’s office said it gave the brothers permission to travel but that they were still under investigation and that they would be expected to return to the country at a later date.

…
Tate, who has over 10 million followers on X, has built a loyal following by promoting a hypermasculine lifestyle, built around fast cars and women, while vocally rejecting feminism. The former kick-boxer supported President Trump during the election campaign and the brothers’ case has been championed by several right-wing commentators.

Earlier this month, Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said he met with U.S. special envoy Richard Grenell in Munich and that Grenell expressed an interest in the Tates’ case. “In no way did I perceive what he said as a form of pressure,” Hurezeanu told Euronews Romania. …”

 

[nycfan]

This is one I would have normally put in the LGBTQ/ catch-all:

Transgender US service members will be separated from military, Pentagon memo says​

All service members diagnosed with gender dysphoria to be discharged by June 25.

Transgender US service members will be separated from military, Pentagon memo says

Transgender US service members will be separated from the military, Pentagon memo says.

abcnews.go.com

“… According to the memo, the Pentagon must create a procedure to identify troops who are transgender by March 26 and orders that the separation of individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria must be completed by June 25.

Those to be separated from the military will include service members receiving some form of treatment or hormones for that diagnosis of gender dysphoria or who have gone through a gender-affirming surgery.

The new policy was included as an exhibit in the federal case of Talbott v. Trump, a federal lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's Jan. 27 executive order that rolled back the previous policy allowing transgender service members to serve in the military.

"Military service by Service members and applicants for military service who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria is incompatible with military service," the memo said. …”

 

[nycfan]

This is one I would have normally put in the LGBTQ/ catch-all:

Transgender US service members will be separated from military, Pentagon memo says​

All service members diagnosed with gender dysphoria to be discharged by June 25.

Transgender US service members will be separated from military, Pentagon memo says

Transgender US service members will be separated from the military, Pentagon memo says.

abcnews.go.com

“… According to the memo, the Pentagon must create a procedure to identify troops who are transgender by March 26 and orders that the separation of individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria must be completed by June 25.

Those to be separated from the military will include service members receiving some form of treatment or hormones for that diagnosis of gender dysphoria or who have gone through a gender-affirming surgery.

The new policy was included as an exhibit in the federal case of Talbott v. Trump, a federal lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's Jan. 27 executive order that rolled back the previous policy allowing transgender service members to serve in the military.

"Military service by Service members and applicants for military service who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria is incompatible with military service," the memo said. …”

“…
"Service by these individuals is not in the best interests of the Military Services and is not clearly consistent with the interests of national security," said the memo.

"Individuals who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are no longer eligible for military service," it added.

The service members who will be separated will receive honorable discharges unless their record indicates they should receive a lower-level discharge. Receiving an honorable discharge means they would be able to receive benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"The Department only recognizes two sexes: male and female. An individual's sex is immutable, unchanging during a person's life. All Service members will only serve in accordance with their sex," according to the memo.

… Current service members can also apply for an exemption if they can prove that they have been stable in their sex for three months "without clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning," and that they never attempted to transition to another sex; and will adhere to all standards for the service member's sex.

On Feb. 7, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo that lifted the Pentagon's previous policy on transgender service and said the U.S. military would no longer allow transgender individuals to join and would stop performing or facilitating procedures associated with gender dysphoria. He also set a timeline for the Pentagon to develop an implementation plan for the new policy.

There are currently 4,240 active-duty, Guard and Reserve service members who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, according to a defense official. …”

 

[MOUNTAINH33L]

Trump Admin secures release of Andrew Tate, brings him to USA:



“… Andrew and Tristan Tate, who have U.S. and U.K. citizenship, have been barred from leaving Romania since 2022, when they were put under investigation. On Thursday, Romania’s special prosecutor’s office said it gave the brothers permission to travel but that they were still under investigation and that they would be expected to return to the country at a later date.

…
Tate, who has over 10 million followers on X, has built a loyal following by promoting a hypermasculine lifestyle, built around fast cars and women, while vocally rejecting feminism. The former kick-boxer supported President Trump during the election campaign and the brothers’ case has been championed by several right-wing commentators.

Earlier this month, Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said he met with U.S. special envoy Richard Grenell in Munich and that Grenell expressed an interest in the Tates’ case. “In no way did I perceive what he said as a form of pressure,” Hurezeanu told Euronews Romania. …”

only the best people

 

[nycfan]

FOREIGN POLICY / USAID BUDGET CUTS



“… Nonprofits cited halts to funding from U.S. institutions including the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the National Endowment for Democracy.

Activists and nonprofit executives say the shutdown—led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency—is forcing nongovernment organizations to suspend or stop their research on everything from human-rights abuses to socioeconomic indicators prized by foreign businesses.

One nonprofit has suspended efforts to collect data on public dissent and worker unrest—information that investors and academics have mined for clues on China’s economic health and social stability. Some activists say they are cutting research on Chinese supply chains, disrupting work that has helped foreign companies and consumers navigate legal and ethical concerns over the alleged use of forced labor.

Other NGOs are dialing back efforts to track the Communist Party’s suppression of speech and religious freedoms, and worry that they may have to cease contact with Chinese activists, independent journalists and whistleblowers who share information that Beijing tries to suppress. Also at risk are think-tank studies on Chinese cyber threats and foreign-influence operations, which have uncovered potentially malicious activities that democratic governments around the world are trying to thwart. …”

 

[nycfan]

DOGE NEWS

DOGE Gains Access to Confidential Records on Housing Discrimination, Medical Details — Even Domestic Violence​

DOGE Gains Access to Confidential Records on Housing Discrimination, Medical Details — Even Domestic Violence

While some agencies have resisted efforts by Elon Musk’s team to access confidential records, HUD has opened the door. The potential harm to privacy could be significant.

www.propublica.org

“… Access to the system, called the HUD Enforcement Management System, or HEMS, is typically strictly limited because it contains medical records, financial files, documents that may list Social Security numbers and other private information. DOGE sought access, and HUD granted it last week, according to information reviewed by ProPublica and two officials familiar with the matter.

This is just the latest collection of sensitive personal information that DOGE has tried to access in recent weeks. It has also sought personal taxpayer data kept by the IRS and information on Social Security benefit recipients, and it attempted to enter the Treasury Department’s payment systems.

DOGE’s stated mission is to modernize government technology and cut excessive or improper spending. The administration of President Donald Trump has argued that DOGE needs “direct access” to such systems to eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse.”

DOGE’s data-gathering moves at some agencies have sparked forceful pushback, including lawsuits over alleged privacy violations and opposition from career officials who have resignedor retired following access requests. Judges have temporarily blocked DOGE from gaining access to records at the Department of Education, the Office of Personnel Management and the Treasury Department. And, faced with resistance, DOGE agreed to view only anonymized taxpayer data at the IRS. …”

 

[nycfan]

DOGE NEWS

DOGE Gains Access to Confidential Records on Housing Discrimination, Medical Details — Even Domestic Violence​

DOGE Gains Access to Confidential Records on Housing Discrimination, Medical Details — Even Domestic Violence

While some agencies have resisted efforts by Elon Musk’s team to access confidential records, HUD has opened the door. The potential harm to privacy could be significant.

www.propublica.org

“… Access to the system, called the HUD Enforcement Management System, or HEMS, is typically strictly limited because it contains medical records, financial files, documents that may list Social Security numbers and other private information. DOGE sought access, and HUD granted it last week, according to information reviewed by ProPublica and two officials familiar with the matter.

This is just the latest collection of sensitive personal information that DOGE has tried to access in recent weeks. It has also sought personal taxpayer data kept by the IRS and information on Social Security benefit recipients, and it attempted to enter the Treasury Department’s payment systems.

DOGE’s stated mission is to modernize government technology and cut excessive or improper spending. The administration of President Donald Trump has argued that DOGE needs “direct access” to such systems to eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse.”

DOGE’s data-gathering moves at some agencies have sparked forceful pushback, including lawsuits over alleged privacy violations and opposition from career officials who have resignedor retired following access requests. Judges have temporarily blocked DOGE from gaining access to records at the Department of Education, the Office of Personnel Management and the Treasury Department. And, faced with resistance, DOGE agreed to view only anonymized taxpayer data at the IRS. …”

“… Few records in the HUD system are redacted or anonymized, and many contain deeply personal material about those who have alleged or been accused of housing discrimination.

Domestic violence case files can list addresses to which survivors have relocated for their safety. Harassment cases can include detailed descriptions of sexual assaults. Disability cases can include detailed medical records. Lending discrimination files could feature credit reports and bank statements.

The names of witnesses who offered information — in some cases anonymously — about landlords accused of discrimination are among the files as well. …”

 

[nycfan]

FOREIGN POLICY / USAID BUDGET CUTS



“… Nonprofits cited halts to funding from U.S. institutions including the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the National Endowment for Democracy.

Activists and nonprofit executives say the shutdown—led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency—is forcing nongovernment organizations to suspend or stop their research on everything from human-rights abuses to socioeconomic indicators prized by foreign businesses.

One nonprofit has suspended efforts to collect data on public dissent and worker unrest—information that investors and academics have mined for clues on China’s economic health and social stability. Some activists say they are cutting research on Chinese supply chains, disrupting work that has helped foreign companies and consumers navigate legal and ethical concerns over the alleged use of forced labor.

Other NGOs are dialing back efforts to track the Communist Party’s suppression of speech and religious freedoms, and worry that they may have to cease contact with Chinese activists, independent journalists and whistleblowers who share information that Beijing tries to suppress. Also at risk are think-tank studies on Chinese cyber threats and foreign-influence operations, which have uncovered potentially malicious activities that democratic governments around the world are trying to thwart. …”

RELATED but weird given the prior story of blinding ourselves in some regards in tracking CCP/China news:

 

[nycfan]

CONGRESS



Opposition is just crisis actors.

 

[nycfan]

Trump seems eager for Israel to resume hostilities in Gaza.

 

[altmin]

It's a real great day to be a woman (or transwoman) in America. WH bringing sex trafficking rapists outside the arm of the law, kicking you out of the military, and handing over confidential domestic abuse records to incels.

 

[nycfan]

CANADA/CRAZY SHIT TRUMP SAYS

 

[nycfan]

CANADA/CRAZY SHIT TRUMP SAYS

Trump declares Wayne Gretzky ‘free agent' after NHL legend supports Canada ‘remaining a separate country’​

Trump declares Wayne Gretzky ‘free agent' after NHL legend supports Canada ‘remaining a separate country’ | Fox News

President Donald Trump declared NHL legend Wayne Gretzky a "free agent" after Gretzky apparently supported Canada remaining a "separate country" as opposed to the "51st state."

www.foxnews.com

“…After previously referring to Wayne Gretzky as the "governor of Canada," President Donald Trump has declared the NHL legend a "free agent."

Justin Trudeau announced his plan to resign as Canada's prime minister earlier this year, prompting Trump to ask Gretzky if he wanted to be the country's "governor" after Trump called for Canada to become the "51st state."

… While speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago last month, Trump said Gretzky was "not too interested" in becoming Canada's "governor," but "he probably would have liked statehood."

Gretzky attended a victory party for Trump's 2024 election win after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris. Gretzky was spotted wearing a MAGA hat shortly afterward and attended Trump's inauguration. …”

——

Et tu, Wayne: Gretzky’s legacy in Canada takes hit over 4 Nations snub​

The hockey hero may have torpedoed a once-bulletproof image in Canada by fraternizing with Donald Trump at the worst time imaginable

Et tu, Wayne: Gretzky’s legacy in Canada takes hit over 4 Nations snub

The hockey hero may have torpedoed a once-bulletproof image in Canada by fraternizing with Donald Trump at the worst time imaginable

www.theguardian.com

“Canada hockey legend Wayne Gretzky was already facing a strained relationship with the Canadian public when he emerged from the tunnel at his country’s 4 Nations Face-Off final against the United States in Boston last week.

But that strain reached a full-on breaking point on Thursday night when Gretzky gave an eager thumbs up to the US players and wore no Canadian colors to a game where he was his country’s honorary team captain.

Gretzky’s perceived disloyalty to his home country, where hockey is almost a national religion, may have caused an uproar among Canadians even at the best of times. But his actions were interpreted by many as traitorous amid heightened nationalism as Donald Trumpthreatens a trade war and muses about making Canada the 51st state.

…
To fans, the game itself became important in a way not seen since the 1972 Summit Series, between the USSR and Canada, he explained. That all heightened Gretzky’s blunder through this moment.

Aaron Ettinger, an associate professor at Carleton University in Ottawa who specializes in international relations and sports, agrees. “I’m not surprised people are so angry about it,” says Ettinger. “It’s the combination of the immediacy of the Trump problem and the slow, long-term erosion of the love affair with Wayne Gretzky over the last 25 years.”

Gretzky’s coaching stint with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes in the mid-2000s was considered a failure and his political affiliations with then-prime minister Stephen Harper in 2015 ended up latching him to a sinking ship as Harper lost the election – which may have affected his image, says Ettinger. A continued affiliation with the US (where he has been a longtime resident) rather than Canada has been a contribution to some Canadians’ further souring on him over the years.

Grant Prete, an 31-year-old Edmonton resident and hockey fan, says it’s Gretzky’s previous actions that led him to question the so-called Great One – but Trump’s threats toward Canada and the former hockey star’s continued affiliation with the president were the final straw. Gretzky has visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago Florida residence on several occasions and attended his inauguration last month. …”

 

[nycfan]

 

[nycfan]

CONGRESS

 

[nycfan]

Elon Musk seemed to run a good portion of yesterday’s public cabinet meeting/press event, though he didn’t have a physical seat at the table:

 

[nycfan]

Elon Musk seemed to run a good portion of yesterday’s public cabinet meeting/press event, though he didn’t have a physical seat at the table:

 

[nycfan]

IMMIGRATION

White House Touts Arrests of Violent Migrants, but Trump’s Crackdown Is Much Broader​

Immigration officers are under pressure to increase arrest numbers​

“…Immigration officers are under immense pressure to ramp up arrest numbers as the administration tries to fulfill President Trump’s campaign promise of a mass deportation. The result is the administration, despite largely promoting arrests of criminals, has been detaining a number of migrants, like Dos Santos Amaral, who don’t have criminal backgrounds or orders for removal, according to interviews with immigration lawyers, activists, state and local officials and families of migrants arrested.

Living in the U.S. illegally is a civil violation subject to deportation but it isn’t a criminal offense.

Overall, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested more than 20,000 migrants living in the U.S. illegally in the first month of the Trump administration, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Arrests are on pace to more than double the 113,000 arrests ICE made under President Joe Biden in fiscal year 2024.

…
Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for DHS, didn’t provide a detailed breakdown of how many of the more than 20,000 arrested had a criminal background. She said of those arrested, 22 were known suspected terrorists and 640 were suspected gang members.

ICE initially provided daily arrest numbers with a breakdown of how many being deported had committed crimes, but stopped after the first few days. On the highest day for arrests that ICE disclosed, roughly half of those picked up by immigration officers had a criminal background. …”

 

[nycfan]

FOREIGN POLICY



Trump Admin continues to alienate EU allies

“… Officials from both sides blamed scheduling challenges for preventing the pair, who last met at the Munich Security Conference in Germany last month, from meeting in Washington.

However, European officials said they were caught off guard, and, notably, Kallas had previewed her planned talks with Rubio just two days earlier.

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has thrown the partnership between the U.S. and Europe into turmoil by pledging to charge higher taxes on imports from Europe that he says will match tariffs faced by American products. EU officials have traveled to Washington trying to head off a trade war.

Top Trump administration officials also have warned Europe that it must start taking responsibility for its own security, including Ukraine, and sidelined the Europeans from their initial talks with Russia on ending the war. In a remarkable shift, the U.S. split with its European allies by refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations this week and joined Moscow in voting against a Europe-backed Ukrainian resolution.

… Kallas said she hoped the EU-U.S. relationship can continue to function.

“So far, we do not have any indication that it would not. Of course it is going to change, that is very clear. But we should not throw something out the window that has worked well so far,” she said.

In a terse text message, her office referred all questions about why the meeting was canceled at short notice to the State Department.

A senior U.S. official said the planned meeting, which had never appeared on Rubio’s public schedule, had been pulled down due to “an unavoidable scheduling conflict.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

Rubio attended Trump’s Cabinet meeting at the White House, which began late Wednesday morning.

The cancellation came less than a week after the State Department’s policy planning office sent an internal memo instructing officials who deal with Europe to highlight two specific issues in interactions with European counterparts. The Feb. 21 memo, seen by The Associated Press, also mentioned tentative plans for an upcoming Rubio meeting with Kallas. …”